Freight-car ladder.



W. A. MITGHELL.

FREIGHT UAR LADDER.

` APPLICATION FILED APR.;[5,1912. 1,043,715. Patented Nov. 5, 1912.

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. w.- A. MITCHELL.

FREIGHT GAR LADDER. y y APBLIOATIION fum Arima 1912;A r K 1,043,715; A Patented N0v.5,1912.

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, Figure-1. isluyaplan a y ucar@equippedrvvith` my invention, Fig. 2 is a- 1" :vvILLIIAM is; l MITCHELL,

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NELL', al: citizenwo the 'United States, and a :resident-'vof Sedalia,' in the "county of Pettis f'andStatexof iMissoiiri, have madecerta-in new and usefulzIniprovements. in Freight etLa-'d'C-lelfs; or which eheroiiewing is a. *Specifica-ion.. e

*My invention relates to vimprovements in ,10i

.'consists'in thenornbinations, constructions Aand"arrangements herein described and side and endladdersffor freight cars, andit i An bj'ect-*of my invention is vto provide ll5 ladderstforlithe ends and sidesof freight cars, vvhichare'f conformity .With the ".IInitedV :Statestsafety "appliance llaw, and which possess features-that render these ladders lsafer than the ordina-ry ladder.

A,V further object of'niy invention is to -pro p vide side'aiid end ladders, each having roof further objectoii yinvention is to pro,-

; Otherobjects.and'yadvantageslivill appear features ofthe inventionyjwill be particularly point-ed ont inthe appended claims.

My invention, illustrated in thelaecoin` 3.5 panyiiig drawings forming vpart of this application in which-f-y y e vieW'of a portion ofa side View, Fig. 3 is an end View, Fig. 4 is a sectionalong theliiie 1 -4 of Fig. 3,Fig. 5 is a` sectionalong the line 5-5 of'Fig. 8, and Fig. 6 is a modified form of the device.

In accordance:-vvith the `United' States safety appliance law, tour ladders must be 45 placed on each boX or other house car, Whereasthe present practice is to have only i Vtivo ladders, one on either side or either lend.

It therefore becomes necessary that two adand every 'box or other house car and to other cars Whose sides and ends are more than a specified height. In the application of these additional ladders, to boX and other house cars, it is often necessary to tear out'a portion of the side and end of the car in order to supply holding means through ditional ladders shall be placed on each r sana 1a iiviisso 1i Patented i Whiclithe boltsare topassfiii securing the ladderfirons to the cars. :This inustbe done ,Ait-the ladders are to befastened in the old Way. vl\j[yiiiain purpose is to provideiiieans for fastening the ladders which will not require fthe preliminaryl .Work'on they carl as stated above.. p .i y. Y

In carrying out my invention I provide a side ladder consisting. of the Stiles, oruvertical side members 1 and 2. The lower endof the side member 1 is bent'inwardly at 1a and isbolted at 3 to the -sill 4 of tliefcar. The member lis bolted at 5 to the upper part 6 of the car frame. The end of the ladder is bent at 7 to extend a short'distance over the roof, and is again bent downwardly at 8 and terminates just above the roof, asv shown in Fig. 3, but 4is not secured to lthe roof., f

The side member 2 is bolted at ,its lower end at 2, this bolt passing throughthe end plate 9. The member is also bolted to the frame member 6 at 10, is bent at 11 to pass above the root of thev car andis bent downwardly. at 12 (see F ig. 3) terminating A above the roof of the car. It will be noted that the portionl 2X above the cary islonger than the portion 1X vof the companion side member. i, Y

The end ladder includes tivo sideineinbers 13 and 14:. The 'former is `bolted totliecar its lower end at 15, ivliile'the latteris secured-at its ripper end at 16 tothe car frame, and at its lower end at 17 to the sill. The upper end 'ofthe member 14 is bent at- 1S and-'passes-over the roof of thecai :being bolted, riveted, or otherwise secured to the portion 2". l fj The ladders arel provided with rungs 19, which are riveted to the side members in the manner shown in Fig.l 5. In order to space the ladders from the/body of thecar and at the same'time to afford additional security I provide cast iron urring spools or thimbl'es 20, such as thosev shown in F ig. et, bolts 2l being provided which pass through the ladder stiles or sides, through the spools, through the Walls 22 of the car, plates 23 being provided for holding the bolts..` The distance'betiveen the rungs-may be varied as may also the number'of spools, according to the construction of the cars to which the ladders are to be appliedlk Sill steps 24 and 25 are provided for the sides and ends of the cars respectively. The sill step 24 is bolted on one side to the sill 4 and on the other A traine -6 at 1;-1 and to th-e body of the car at r side the bolts pass also through the end -plate 9. Similarly the sill step 25 is bolted ladder arm was secured either with bolts' or lag screws separately to the body of the car, the timber very 4frequently became decayed, allowing the lag screws or bolts to pull out and the hand hold to come oil'. The trainmen were very often thrown from the 'car'by the giving away of the hand hold.l

In fact, this has been a source of more accidents perhaps than any other cause since t-he abolition of the old link and pin cou* pling devices. Wit-h my invention, however, the chances for an accident of this kind are very remote. The rungs are riveted to the side members, and the latter are tirinly secured to the substantial parts of the car,

i. e., to the-sill and to the frame of the car. Moreover, the bending of the ladder at the top to constitute grab irons also vattords an additional support to the ladder. It will be noted that in this construction each of the side ladders is provided with a grab 'iron for vthe root,` that for the side ladder being the rung 26 between the portions-1X and 2* which are bent over t-he root and that for the end ladder being the portion 2X itself. 'Ihe ends of the members I* and 2X are bent downwardly for the purpose of preventing trainmen or others from getting their feet or clothing caught on the projecting .ends of the ladder stiles or sides.

, The stopping of the member 18 below the necessity o f going to hold the ladder irons may `roof of the car leliminates one of the exe` tensions over the roof, thus taking a part out of the way of the trainnien, while at the saine time the endof the ladder is provided with a roof grab iron, in` accordance with the law.

It will thus be seen that I have provided a device which may bel applied directly. to cars already in -use without the the expense oit' tearing outa portion of the side 4and end in order to supply means by which the-bolts which be secured.

l It is obvious that other forms and dimensions than those shown in the accompanying specification might be used, but I desire to claim all such modifications as fairly fall within the spirit and the scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. The combination with a freight car, of an end ladder and a side ladder, the Stiles of said side ladder being bent over the roof of the car, one of said stiles being extended beyond the other, Aand one of the stiles of said end ladder being bent over the roof 'of the carand being secured to said extended stile, said extended stile serving as a roof grab for the end ladder.

2. The combination with a freight car, ot' an end ladder and a side ladder, the stiles of said ladder being bent over the roof of the car, one of said stiles being extended beyond the other, and one of the stiles of said end ladde r being bent over tlie roof of the car and being secured to -said extended stile, said extended stile serving as a roof grabfor the end ladder, 'a rung disposed between the bent over portions of the side ladder and serving as a roof grab for the side ladder. and the ends of the bent over portions oi the side ladder being bentdownwardly toward the roof of the car.

3. The combination with a freight car, of an end ladder and a side ladder, the stiles ot' said side ladderl being bent over the roof of the car, one of said stiles being extended beyond the other, and one of the stiles of said end ladder being bent over the rooiof the carland being secured to said extended stile, said extended stile serving as a roof grab for the end ladder, a

rung disposed between the bent over portions of the side ladder and serving as ar roof grab for the side ladder, the ends of the bent over portions of the side ladder being beiit downwardly toward the roof of the ear, each of said ladders being secured at their bottoms to the -sill of the car, and means carried by thel car body Jfor spacing said ladders'from the car body, said spacing means constituting an auxiliary fastening means.

` wiLLiAM A. MITCHELL.

F. I". DURHAM. 

